Established 2004

Ruddlesden geotechnical

Ruddlesden geotechnical provides ground investigation, geotechnical consultancy and contamination assessment services.

Based in Exeter, but covering the whole of the UK, albeit primarily concentrated in the South West, Ruddlesden geotechnical was formed in 2004.

Ruddlesden geotechnical works on behalf of a wide client base, including local, regional and national housing developers, housing associations, commercial developers, building contractors, structural and civil engineers, architects, building consultants, quantity surveyors, local authorities and private individuals.

Development projects range from single dwellings and extensions to large housing estates, multi-storey flats, offices, industrial units, roads, slopes, schools, hospitals and basements.

The services and projects listed on this web-site provide an indication of those undertaken by Ruddlesden geotechnical, but others are carried out. If your requirement is not readily identifiable on this web-site, please contact us as we may still be able to help you.

  • AGS
  • Constructionline
  • CSCS
  • SMAS
  • ECFC trust
  • Latest news

    14 May 2026

    MSc Student to Help with BRE 365 Soakaway Project

    At Ruddlesden geotechnical, we often provide work experience to university students over the summer. This pleases both parties, as it provides them with invaluable industrial experience and a bit of pocket money, and helps us cover staff holidays, as well acting as an extended job interview, should a suitable vacancy arise in the future.This summer, we are particularly looking forward to welcoming Bailey, from the University of Portsmouth, who will be doing his MSc dissertation with us. He will be working and extending on an on-going project of ours. He will be reviewing all of our soakaway testing data and correlating this with the published geology, and then asking the question, and potentially providing the answer: does BRE soakaway testing need to be carried out in certain geologies?We have been reliably informed that he is a GIS whizz and are hopeful that he is what the project needs to take it to the next level.

    MSc Student to Help with BRE 365 Soakaway Project
    MSc Student to Help with BRE 365 Soakaway Project
  • Recent projects

    Combined Geotechnical Consultancy Services Provided for Residential Development, Devon

    Ruddlesden geotechnical has provided a combination of several geotechnical consultancy services for a large and on-going residential development site in Torbay. The geology of clay underlain limestone has resulted in a number of geotechnical hazards, primarily associated with solution features in the limestone, which have had implications on foundations, drainage and excavations. Using information obtained from a combination of geophysics, trial pits, dynamic sampling/ windowless sample boreholes and rotary boreholes, foundation recommendations have locally included reinforcement and widening to reduce ground bearing pressures. Deep bore soakaways have been recommended to avoid the potential wash-out of near surface soils, which might be caused by conventional soakaways in these ground conditions. In addition, terracing of a slope in part of the site generated significant quantities of soil. Rather than disposing of this at landfill, a material re-use suitability assessment was undertaken, which allowed an earthworks specification to be produced, which itself enabled ground levels to be raised on another area of the site, reducing the need to mechanically break-out near-surface bedrock for excavations.

    24-yannons-geotechnical-consultancy-1
  • Recent projects

    Gas Monitoring for Residential Development in Cornwall

    Ruddlesden geotechnical have been undertaking ground gas monitoring to provide data for a ground gas assessmentfor the proposed residential development of land near Newquay, Cornwall. The Phase 1 Preliminary Contamination Assessment and mining risk assessmentidentified that an Elvan Dyke (coarse-grained igneous intrusion) had previously been quarried within the centre of the proposed development site and that the quarry had subsequently been used as a landfill site and infilled with domestic refuse. As part of the contaminated land assessment, ground gas monitoring wells were installed within windowless sample boreholes, to facilitate the long-term ground gas monitoring. Ruddlesden geotechnical use an infra-red gas analyser to monitor levels of carbon dioxide, methane, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide and gas flow.

    19-nansledan-gas-1